v-oYt^bnul) 

^LIBRARY 

f/^      NATURAL 
B^        HISTORY 

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Class    i  I    l*  \  v 

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Autumn  Flowers  and  Fruits 

BY 

J.  FRANCIS  MACBRIDE 
Assistant  Curator.  Taxonomy,  Department  of  Botany 


*x 


Botany 
Leaflet  m 


FIELD  MUSEUM  OF  NATURAL  HISTORY 

CHICAGO 

1924 


This  leaflet  is  the  fourth  of  a  series  of  Field  Museum 
leaflets  illustrating  some  of  the  more  common  or  attrac- 
tive wild  flowers  of  the  Chicago  region.  The  three  pre- 
ceding leaflets  describe  the  spring,  early  summer  and 
summer  wild  flowers. 

Attention  is  called  to  the  Illinois  law  protecting  the 
Gentian,  illustrated  in  this  leaflet,  which  is  threatened 
with  extermination. 

Photographs,  unless  otherwise  credited,  are  by  L. 
W.  Brownell,  with  the  exception  of  the  Cardinal  Flower 
by  C.  H.  Carpenter. 

LIST  OF  BOTANICAL  LEAFLETS  ISSUED  TO  DATE 

No.  1.  Figs $  .10 

No.  2.  The  Coco  Palm 10 

No.  3.  Wheat 10 

No.  4.  Cacao        .10 

No.  5.  A  Fossil  Flower 10 

No.  6.  The  Cannon  Ball  Tree  (in  preparation)    ...        .10 

No.  7.  Spring  Wild  Flowers 25 

No.  8.  Spring  and  Early  Summer  Wild  Flowers      .     .        .25 

No.  9.  Summer  Wild  Flowers 25 

No.  10.  Autumn  Flowers  and  Fruits 25 

D.  C.  DA  VIES 

DIRECTOR 

FIELD  MUSEUM  OF  NATURAL  HISTORY 
CHICAGO.  U.  S.  A. 
October.  1924 


SNEEZEWEED 


Field  Museum  of  Natural  History 

DEPARTMENT  OF  BOTANY 
Chicago,  1924 

Leaflet  Number  10 


AUTUMN  FLOWERS  AND  FRUITS 


SNEEZEWEED 

(Helenium  autumnale) 

This  sunflower-like  perennial  of  river-banks  and 
wet  places  is  easily  recognized  by  the  button  or  knob- 
like centers  of  its  yellow  blossoms.  Its  leaves  are  note- 
worthy because  of  the  yellow  resinous  dots  with  which 
they  are  sprinkled.  Sometimes  the  stiffish  branching 
stems  are  six  feet  high  but  usually  they  are  very  much 
lower.     (Daisy  Family) 


[95] 


Field  Museum  of  Natural  History 


SMILAX.     GREENBRIER 
(Smilax  species) 

The  Horse  or  Cat  Brier  is  unpleasantly  well- 
known  to  anyone  who  has  encountered  a  thicket  of  its 
spiny  climbing  branches.  It  has  thickish  roundish 
leaves  and  clusters  of  insignificant  flowers  producing 
berries  that  ripen  blue-black.  More  attractive  is  the 
Carrion-flower,  similar  but  spineless,  ill-scented  in 
blossom,  but  bearing  dense  clusters  of  bluish-black 
berries  well-liked  by  birds.     (Lily  Family) 

[96] 


Autumn  Flowers  and  Fruits 


LADIES'  TRESSES.     SPIRANTHES 
(Spiranthes  species) 

The  name  of  this  small  native  orchid  refers  to  the 
way  the  flowers  are  coiled  or  spiraled  around  the  slen- 
der stalk.  Often,  too,  each  little  white  (sometimes 
greenish  or  cream-colored)  flower  is  somewhat  curved. 
The  stem,  bearing  a  few  narrow  leaves  mostly  crowded 
toward  the  base,  varies  from  a  few  inches  to  a  couple 
of  feet  in  height.  The  Showy  Spiranthes  pictured 
grows  in  wet  places,  but  some  species  like  dry  woods. 
(Orchid  Family) 

[97] 


Field  Museum  of  Natural  History 


SMARTWEED.  WATER  PEPPER 
(Polygonum  species) 
The  group  of  plants  generally  known  as  Smart- 
weeds  consists  mostly  of  low-growing  herbs  with  weak 
sprawling  stems  bearing  many  more  or  less  densely 
flowered  white,  pink  or  red  "spikes".  Most  species 
grow  in  sunny  wet  places,  one  kind  being  often 
aquatic.  Perhaps  the  best  known  varieties  of  Smart- 
weed  are  the  Lady's  Thumb  and  the  Tear-thumb.  The 
former  gets  its  name  from  the  dark  spot  near  the  mid- 
dle of  each  leaf ;  the  latter  from  the  sharp  prickles  on 
the  angles  of  the  stems.     (Buckwheat  Family) 

[98] 


Autumn  Flowers  and  Fruits 


POKEWEED.    PIGEON  BERRY 

(Phytolacca  decandra) 
When  the  dark  purple  berries  of  the  Pokeweed 
are  ripe,  the  robins,  grosbeaks  and  woodpeckers  find 
a  favorite  fruit.  Often  they  may  be  seen  feasting 
from  this  tall  smooth  rather  unpleasantly  scented 
perennial  of  rich  soils.  It  is  a  stout  plant,  usually 
several  feet  high  with  opposite  leaves  and  wand-like 
racemes  of  pinkish- white  flowers.     (Pokeweed  Fam.) 

[99] 


Field  Museum  of  Natural  History 


CLEMATIS.    VIRGIN'S  BOWER 
(Clematis  virginiana) 

The  Clematis  covers  river-bank  shrubs  by  bend- 
ing its  leaf-stalks  about  twigs  for  support  rather  than 
by  using  tendrils,  as  most  vines  do.  Its  leaves  con- 
sist of  three  leaflets  that  are  borne  together  at  the  end 
of  the  leaf -stalk.  The  small  white  flowers  are  followed 
by  an  abundance  of  seed-like  fruits  each  with  a  long 
hairy  tail. 

The  Purple  or  Yellow  Leather  Flowers  and  the 
big  purple-flowered  Clematis,  often  cultivated  as  a 
vine,  are  related  plants.     (Crowfoot  Family) 

[100] 


Autumn  Flowers  and  Fruits 


Courtesy  Mrs.  Charles  L.  Hutchinson. 


BANEBERRY 
(Actaea  rubra  and  Actaea  alba) 

The  shade-loving  Baneberry  of  rich  woods  is  one 
of  our  finest  native  foliage  plants.  Its  large  handsome 
leaves  are  much  divided,  their  divisions  being  sharply 
toothed.  A  raceme  of  scarlet  or  white  berries  termi- 
nates the  smooth  stem.  The  stalks  of  the  White  Bane- 
berry  are  often  red.     (Crowfoot  Family) 

[101] 


Field  Museum  of  Natural  History 


BLUE  COHOSH 

(Caulophyllum  thalictroides) 

With  its  open  cluster  of  small  greenish-yellow 
flowers  borne  above  a  much  divided  grayish-green  leaf 
the  Blue  Cohosh  or  Papoose  Root  cannot  be  mistaken 
for  any  other  plant.  It  is  inconspicuous  when  in  flower 
but  the  ripe  seeds  or  "berries"  are  blue  and  as  large  as 
peas.  They  are  said  to  be  a  substitute  for  coffee  when 
roasted. 

This  curious  herb  grows  in  deep  rich  woods.  It 
is  related  to  the  May  Apple.     (Barberry  Family) 

[102] 


Autumn  Flowers  and  Fruits 


WITCH-HAZEL 
(Hamamelis  virginiana) 

The  tall  slender  shrub,  or  often  tree-like  Witch- 
hazel  is  an  anomaly  among  our  native  plants  for  its 
yellow  crinkly  blossoms  come  out  in  late  fall  when  its 
leaves  are  falling,  or  in  winter,  the  seed-pods  ripening 
the  next  summer.  When  the  "nuts"  are  quite  mature 
they  burst  with  such  force  that  the  two  large  black 
seeds  are  thrown  a  considerable  distance. 

The  bark  of  this  shrub  is  the  source  of  the  famil- 
iar extract.     (Witch-hazel  Family) 

[103] 


10 


Field  Museum  of  Natural  History 


HARDHACK.  STEEPLE  BUSH 
(Spiraea  tomentosa) 
Beginning  to  blossom  in  midsummer,  when  its 
close  relative,  the  Meadowsweet,  is  bearing  its  white 
flowers,  the  Hardhack  Spiraea  produces  clusters  of 
rose-pink  blossoms  into  September.  The  Hardhack 
is  a  small  shrub  of  lowlands  well-marked  by  the  nu- 
merous small  flowers  crowded  together,  and  by  the 
firm  leaves,  green  above,  and  white-  or  brown-woolly 
beneath.     (Rose  Family) 

[104] 


CAT-TAILS. 


Autumn  Flowers  and  Fruits 


11 


HAW.  HAWTHORN 
(Crataegus  species) 
There  are  hundreds  of  Haws — so  some  botanists 
say — but  nearly  everyone  knows  this  characteristically 
thorny  shrub  as  the  Black,  Red  or  Yellow  Haw,  ac- 
cording to  the  color  of  the  fruit.  Highly  ornamental 
in  both  flower  and  fruit,  many  sorts  of  the  Haw- 
thorn are  grown.  The  species  illustrated  is  the  Eng- 
lish Haw;  our  native  kinds  mostly  have  toothed  in- 
stead of  lobed  leaves.     (Rose  Family) 

[  105  ] 


12 


Field  Museum  of  Natural  History 


SUMACH 
(Rhus  species) 

The  Sumach,  especially  in  the  fall,  is  a  thing  of 
beauty  with  its  handsome  pinnately  divided  foliage  and 
large  red  bunches  of  fruit  at  the  ends  of  the  branches. 
Two  noteworthy  species  are  the  Smooth  Sumach  and 
the  Staghorn,  the  latter  with  very  velvety-hairy  stalks 
and  branches. 

The  Poison  Sumach  of  swamps,  dangerous  to 
touch,  may  easily  be  distinguished  from  the  harmless 
kinds.  Both  its  flowers  and  fruits,  the  latter  grayish, 
are  very  loosely  borne  on  long  slender  branching 
stalks.     (Sumach  Family) 

[106] 


Autumn  Flowers  and  Fruits 


13 


BITTERSWEET.  WAXWORK 
(Celastrus  scandens) 
This  vine-like  shrub,  climbing  over  trees  and 
rocks  sometimes  to  a  height  of  twenty-five  feet,  incon- 
spicuous in  flower,  is  showy  in  fruit.  In  September 
and  later  its  many  orange-colored  berry-like  pods  open 
and  the  sections  curling  back,  reveal  the  scarlet  cov- 
ering of  the  seeds.  The  berries  are  much  sought  by 
birds.     (Staff  Tree  Family) 

[107] 


14 


Field  Museum  of  Natural  History 


Courtesy  Mrs.  Charles  L.  Hutchinson. 

VIRGINIA  CREEPER.    WOODBINE 
(Parthenocissus  species) 

This  woody  climber,  commonly  seen  as  a  vine  on 
houses,  is  a  native  of  woods  and  thickets.  Its  tendrils 
have  adhesive  tips  that  enable  the  plant  to  cling  to 
walls  or  tree-trunks  without  other  support.  With  its 
handsome  five-  (to  seven-)  parted  foliage  that  assumes 
beautiful  colors  in  autumn,  and  its  blue-black  berries, 
inedible,  but  not  poisonous,  the  Virginia  Creeper  is 
one  of  our  most  attractive  vines.     (Vine  Family) 


[108] 


Autumn  Flowers  and  Fruits 


15 


WILD  GRAPE 
(Vitis  species) 
The  Concord  Grape  and  other  well-known  varie- 
ties in  cultivation  have  been  developed  from  the  na- 
tive Fox  Grape  shown  in  the  picture.  Our  most  com- 
mon species,  however,  with  sharply  toothed  leaves,  are 
the  River-bank  or  Frost  Grape  and  the  Red  or  Cat 
Grape.  The  fruits  of  the  former  are  blue  with  a 
bloom;  those  of  the  latter  are  black.  The  Red  Grape 
has  bright  red  branches.     (Vine  Family) 

[109] 


16 


Field  Museum  of  Natural  History 


FRINGED  GENTIAN 

[no] 


Autumn  Flowers  and  Fruits 


17 


GENTIANS 
(Gentiana  species) 
The  Fringed  Gentian  is  one  of  the  finest  of  blue 
flowers  and  one  of  the  last  to  bloom.  There  are  many 
species  of  Gentians,  all  characterized  by  smooth  stems 
and  leaves  containing  an  acrid  juice.  The  flowers  of 
the  Closed  Gentian,  clustered  at  the  top  of  the 
stems,  never  really  open.  Like  the  Fringed  kind  it 
grows  in  meadows  or  at  the  edge  of  woods.  (Gentian 
Family) 

[in] 


18 


Field  Museum  of  Natural  History 


CHECKERBERRY 
(Gaultheria  procumbens) 

The  Aromatic  Wintergreen,  as  this  low  shrubby 
plant  with  creeping  stems  is  often  called,  is  frequently 
cultivated  for  its  evergreen  leaves.  The  dainty  nod- 
ding blossoms,  borne  among  the  leaves  on  the  erect 
flowering-branches,  are  followed  by  red  berry-like 
fruits  with  a  spicy-aromatic  flavor.     (Heath  Family) 


[112] 


JIMSON  WEED   PODS. 


Autumn  Flowers  and  Fruits 


19 


JIMSON  WEED.  THORN  APPLE 
(Datura  species) 
Among  weeds,  none  are  better  known  or  have 
more  attractive  flowers  than  this  ill-scented  plant, 
sometimes  called  Stramonium.  It  is  a  coarse,  rank- 
growing  herb,  with  large  white  or  purplish  flowers 
borne  singly  in  the  forks  of  the  much-branched  stem. 
The  blossoms  and  the  beautiful  prickle-covered  seed- 
pods  are  produced  together  until  frost.  (Nightshade 
Family) 

[113] 


20 


Field  Museum  of  Natural  History 


NIGHTSHADE.  BITTERSWEET 
{Solarium  Dulcamara) 
The  Nightshade's  small  purple  flowers  with 
pointed  yellow  centers  and  red  berries  produced  at  the 
same  time  are  well  known.  Half-trailing,  half-climb- 
ing, this  plant  seems  fond  of  covering  old  stumps  or 
clambering  over  moist  banks.  Its  rather  weak,  slen- 
der stems  are  rarely  more  than  a  few  feet  long.  Con- 
trary to  reputation,  the  Nightshade  is  not  poisonous 
to  touch.     (Nightshade  Family) 

[114] 


Autumn  Flowers  and  Fruits 


21 


GERARDIA.  FALSE  FOXGLOVE 
(Gerardia  species) 
Showy  bell-shaped  flowers  with  five  unequal  flar- 
ing lobes  and  hairy  stamens  characterize  this  erect 
branching  herb.  There  are  many  species  of  Gerardia 
with  either  pink,  purple  or  yellow  flowers  and  slender 
entire,  or  divided  and  fern-like  leaves.  Most  kinds 
grow  in  dryish  woods,  but  one  or  two  species  prefer 
low  sandy  ground  or  the  edge  of  a  bog.  (Figwort 
Family) 

[115] 


22 


Field  Museum  of  Natural  History 


SWEET  ELDER.     ELDERBERRY 
(Sambucus  canadensis) 

In  many  localities  the  black-purple  fruit  of  this 
smooth  shrubby  plant  is  famous  for  the  delicious  pies 
that  can  be  made  of  it.  Its  large  showy  flat-topped 
clusters  of  small  white  flowers  are  nearly  as  well- 
known.  The  leaves  are  pinnate,  that  is,  they  consist 
of  several  leaflets  arranged  oppositely  in  two  rows  on 
a  common  stalk.     (Honeysuckle  Family) 

r  lie: 


Autumn  Flowers  and  Fruits 


23 


CARDINAL-FLOWER 

(Lobelia  cardinalis) 
Down  along  the  river,  where  in  the  spring  the 
muddy  water  left  a  layer  of  silt,  the  flaming-red  Car- 
dinal-flower grows  the  tallest.  There  in  early  autumn 
its  leafy  stems  rise  two  feet  or  more  before  they 
terminate  in  the  wand-like  raceme  of  showy,  rather 
ragged-looking  blossoms.  The  Great  Lobelia  has  long 
spikes  of  blue  flowers.     (Lobelia  Family) 

[in] 


24 


Field  Museum  of  Natural  History 


JOE-PYE  WEED.     BONESET 
(Eupatorium  species) 

One  of  the  most  common  species  of  Thorough- 
worts  is  the  Joe-Pye  Weed.  Its  large,  terminal 
crowded  and  showy  clusters  of  tiny  flowers  are  es- 
pecially noted  for  their  pink  or  rose-purple  color  that 
is  a  rather  out-of-the-ordinary  shade.  The  tall  stout 
stems  are  sometimes  six  feet  high. 

Thoroughworts  are  mostly  coarse  plants  of  low 
grounds  and  thickets,  with  rayless  flower-heads,  the 
tiny  blossoms  white,  bluish  or  pinkish.     (Daisy  Fam.) 

[118] 


Autumn  Flowers  and  Fruits 


25 


VERNONIA.     IRONWEED 

(Vernonia  species) 
A  close  relative  of  the  Thorough  wort,  the  Ver- 
nonia may  be  recognized  by  its  long-pointed  leaves  and 
showy  ragged  heads  of  red-purple  flowers.  It  is  also 
a  coarse  leafy-stemmed  perennial  of  low  grounds  and 
prairies,  often  several  feet  tall.     (Daisy  Family) 

[119] 


26 


Field  Museum  op  Natural  History 


GOLDENROD 

(Solidago  species) 
Famous  for  its  beauty  and  for  its  abundance  from 
the  shore  of  the  sea  to  the  top  of  the  wooded  moun- 
tains, the  Goldenrod  is  often  considered  the  national 
flower.  Certainly  its  straight  unbranched  stems 
terminating  in  wand  or  spray-like  masses  of  tiny  gold- 
en flowers  are  familiar  to  nearly  everyone.  There  are 
about  a  hundred  species,  some  of  which  are  in  blossom 
from  early  summer  to  late  frost.     (Daisy  Family) 

[120] 


Autumn  Flowers  and  Fruits 


27 


Courtesy  Mrs.  Charles  L.  Hutchinson. 

ASTERS 
(Aster  species) 
Asters  are  the  Daisies  of  autumn  and  surpass 
their  summer  relative  in  both  abundance  and  beauty. 
Familiar  plants  of  fields,  roadsides,  thickets  or  open 
woods,  they  are  generally  characterized  by  numerous 
slender  erect  stems,  branching  toward  the  top  and 
bearing  a  profusion  of  "starry"  blossoms.  Among 
the  hundreds  of  varieties,  perhaps  the  most  remark- 
able is  the  New  England  Aster,  frequently  cultivated. 
The  "rays"  of  its  flower-heads  are  violet-purple  or 
rose  color.     (Daisy  Family) 


[121] 


28 


Field  Museum  of  Natural  History 


SUNFLOWER 
(Helianthus  species) 
The  Sunflower  shown  in  the  picture  is  one  of  a 
score  of  such  perennials  that  are  native  to  our  prairies 
and  thickets.  They  are  coarse  plants  often  growing 
in  clumps  of  several  stems  which  bear  one  or  more 
flower-heads  on  leafy  branchlets.  The  leaves  are  usu- 
ally somewhat  toothed  and  roughened.  The  Jerusalem 
Artichoke  is  a  kind  of  Sunflower.     (Daisy  Family) 

[122] 


Autumn  Flowers  and  Fruits 


29 


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THISTLES 
(Cirsium  and  Carduus  species) 
Regularly  detested  by  the  farmer,  and  carefully 
avoided  by  the  wild  flower  gatherer,  the  thistle  has 
only  the  botanist  and  the  artist  to  champion  its  inter- 
est and  beauty.  There  are  many  kinds  of  thistles, 
each  species  with  its  own  peculiar  shape  of  leaf,  de- 
gree and  sort  of  hairiness,  and  color  of  flower.  This- 
tles are  thistles,  however,  in  the  prickliness  of  their 
leaves  and  the  tight  fuzzy  flower-heads  with  knob- 
like bases.     (Daisy  Family) 

[123] 


